Diwali 2022: Promote extensive use of Cow-dung products & Give Business to Cow-Based Entrepreneurs & Farmers

Encouraged by the response to Gaumaya Ganesha Campaign which encouraged usage of eco-friendly material in the manufacture of idols for the Ganesha Festival based on the appeal made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog or RKA had started a nation-wide campaign to celebrate “Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan” this year on the occasion of Deepawali festival.

During the Diwali Festival, through the campaign, the RKA is promoting extensive use of cow-dung/ Panchgavya products. Manufacture of Cow dung based Diyas, Candles, Dhoop, Agarbatti, Shubh-Labh, Swastik, Samrani, Hardboard, Wall-piece, Paper-weight, Havan samagri, Idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi for this year’s Diwali festival has already begun.

Use of cow dung products on this Diwali:

Interestingly, RKA aims to reach 11 crore families to ignite 33 crores Diyas made of cow-dung during Diwali 2020. The feedback received so far is very encouraging and around 3 lakh Diyas will be ignited in the holy city of Ayodhya alone, 1 lakh Diyas will be lit in the holy city of Varanasi. Apart from generating business opportunities for thousands of cow-based entrepreneurs/farmers/ women entrepreneurs, the use of cow-dung products will lead to a cleaner and healthier environment.

It will help in making Gaushalas ‘Atma Nirbhar’ too. By providing an environment-friendly alternative to Chinese-made Diyas, the campaign will boost up Make in India vision and mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also promote the ‘Swadeshi’ movement while reducing environmental damage.

RKA has been interacting with various stakeholders through a series of webinars to focus and promote the use of cow dung in the manufacture of items that can be used in this year’s Deepawali. RKA has enhanced its presence through its representatives in every district across all States for the campaign to motivate and facilitate the production of Kamdhenu Deepawali-related items in Gaushalas all over the country along with a nationwide marketing plan.

Various segments of stakeholders like farmers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, Gaushalas, and other concerns are being involved at large to make the campaign of Kamdhenu Deepawali a grand success.

Campaign of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA):

Recently, the RKA had launched a nationwide campaign on various platforms of social media to use eco-friendly material in the manufacture of idols of Lord Ganesha for this year’s Ganesha Festival on appeal of the Prime Minister. It generated considerable interest in various stakeholders like dairy farmers / unemployed youth/women and young entrepreneurs / Gaushalas/ Gopalaks / Self Help Groups etc.

It is to be noted that Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) has been constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the conservation, protection, and development of cows and their progeny and for giving direction to the cattle development programs. RKA is a high-powered permanent body to formulate policy and to provide direction to the implementation of schemes related to cattle so as to give more emphasis on livelihood generation.

The livestock economy sustains nearly 73 million households in rural areas. Even though, the country is the largest producer of milk, the average milk yield in India is only 50% of the world average. The low productivity is largely due to deterioration in genetic stock, poor nutrition, and unscientific management. The trend needs to be reversed and popular perceptions about the cow and cow-based agriculture and cow-based industry need to be corrected immediately for social and economic rejuvenation of society particularly poor in rural areas.

RKA is trying its best to implement the vision of PM Narendra Modi for 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'. The Cow-centric economy can also help to achieve the goal by making its own humble contribution. For the same, RKA has been consistently endeavoring to increase the use of various cow- panchgavya products for raising the income of farmers, gaupalaks, youth, women, self-help groups, and other stakeholders.

Source: PIB